Art of packing cigars



(No Model.)

W. P. LANG. ART OF PACKING CIGARS.

No. 410,553. Patented Sept. 3, 1889.

Q 0 O O WITNESSES By QM Mn N. PETERS. Phoicihhogriphar. Whhmglan. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

\VILLIAM F. LANG, OF ALLEGHENY, ASSIGNOR TO THE UNION AMERICAN CIGARCOMPANY, (LIMITED) OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

ART OF PACKING CIGARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 410,553, datedSeptember 3, 1889. Application filed February 13, 1889. $erial No.299,698- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM F. LANG, of Allegheny, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the Art of Packing Cigars, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to an improvement in packing cigars for sale anduse, and simul- [O taneously flattening the cigars to alter their shape.

The object of the invention is to reduce the cigars to a shape angular,preferably rectangular, in cross-section, and to pack them in layers inthe box, so that the cigars of each layer shall be uniform in shape andin compactness.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- 2oFigurel is aplan view of the box or casein which the cigars are placedpreparatory to compressing them. This figure shows also the spacingdevice, by which the cigars are individually separated from each otherin the proper manner. Fig. 2 is a vertical crosssection on the line IIII of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar section of said box or case, shown inconnection with the plunger of a press for compressing the cigars. Fig.l is a perspective view of the spacing device. Fig. 5 is a perspectiveview showing the manner of transferring the cigars into the cigar-box inwhich they are packed for sale. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of afinished cigar.

3 5 Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each.

The box or case 2, in which the cigars are placed preparatory to packingthem, is made of the same width as the packing-box. In the practice ofmy invention I take the cigars after they have been rolled, while theyare yet in a somewhat moist and pliable condition, and place them inorder in the box 2, there being placed in the box in a single layernearly as many as a single layer of the cigarbox will hold. In orderthat the cigars may be spaced uniformly in the box, I prefer to employ aspacing device 3, which is a combshaped instrumenthaving a series ofparallel rods or teeth projecting from a body-piece or back. This spaceris laid on the bottom of the case 2, the cigars are placed between thespacing-rods, and a board or plate 4 is then placed 011 the cigarswithin the box, as shown in Fig. 2. On applying a slight pressure tothis board or plate, the spacer may be withdrawn without disturbing thepositions of the cigars, which remain uniformly spaced or separated.Another layer of cigars is then placed upon the board or plate andproperly 6o spaced. A second board is then set in place, and thus insuccession a number of layers of cigars and boards may be placed in thecase, the layers being preferablycomposed of alternately odd and evennumbers of cigars, so that they shall pack evenly in the box; thoughthis is not essential, and the layers may be all odd or all even, ifdesired. To secure this alternate arrangement I employ two spacers, oneadapted to use in arranging an even num- 7o ber and the other for an oddnumber-of cigars. \Vhen a proper number of layers of cigars have beenthus arranged in the case 2, I put this case in a press 8 and apply thepressure thereof to the board covering the top layer of cigars. Theeffect of this is to compress all the layers, and to reduce the cigarsfrom their natural cylindrical form to flattened shape, the preciseshape being determined by the extent or degree of the compression, andas the cigars are separated during compression by equal spaces all willbe compressed or flattened uniformly. In order to compress the cigars toa thickness corresponding to the depth of the cigar-boxin which they areto be packed for sale, I place a mark on the box 2, at a distance abovethe bottom equal to the depth of the cigar-box plus the thickness of theboards or plates at. If the cigars are pressed down to this mark, theywill just fill the cigar-box when placed therein. I now remove the casecontaining the cigars from the press, and taking the layers of cigars insuccession on the plates on which they rest, and having placed the edgeof the plate in the packing-box so that the flattened cigars shall bedirectly above the position which it is intended they shall occupytherein, I lay on the cigars a rod or bar 6, having a facing ofplush-cloth, rubber, or some other material which will hold we thecigars, and I then draw out the plate from under the cigars, thusallowing them to drop into place in the box. In this manner all thelayers may be transferred from the case 2 to the packing-box in a veryshort time, and as each layer has been flattened in a form of the sameWidth as the packing-box, they will fit the latter very neatly.

I am thus enabled to pack cigars much more rapidly and with moreuniformity than has heretofore been possible.

While the use of the comb or spacer 3 is a desirable feature of myinvention, it is not always essential thereto, since-good results areobtainable without its use by depending on the eye to secure properspacing of the cigars in placing them in the case 2.

I claim as my invention-- 1. As an improvement in the art of shaping andpacking cigars, the following successive steps: first, arranging aseries of layers of cigars and interposed presser-p'lates, eachlayer'consisting of a definite number of cigars definitely spaced, thespacing being proportioned to the diameter of the cigar, and the numberin a row proportioned to the size of the box in which the cigars are tobe packed; second subjecting said series of layers to diameter of thecigar and the reduction to be effected to allow for change of form, and,finally, utilizing the interposed presser-plates as carriers fortransferring the separate lay ers as such from the press to thecigar-box or final receptacle, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day ofFebruary, A. I). 1889.

WILLIAM' F. LANG.

WVitnesses:

W. B. OORWIN, THOMAS W. BAKEWELL.

